Special Task Force for Montreat’s recommended decision to presbytery
The Layman Online, April 16, 2007
In the packet of materials mailed to commissioners to the upcoming April 24 meeting of the Presbytery of Western North Carolina, the Special Task Force for Montreat includes, under the heading “Recommended Decision (endorsed by the Coordinating Council and the Committee on Ministry),” the following:
I. The Presbytery of Western North Carolina, after diligent and prayerful efforts to hear and evaluate the desires and reasons of all affected parties, agrees to:
A. Follow our Lord’s command that “you love one another as I have loved you,” and the Apostle Paul’s mandate that we “make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
B. Remind all officers of the Presbyterian Church (USA) [hereinafter PCUSA] of their vows.
- 1. To be “in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and continually guided by our confessions;”
- 2. To “be governed by our church’s polity and … abide by its discipline;” and
- 3. “To further the peace, unity and purity of the church.”
C. Divide (pursuant to BO: G-11.0103.i) the current Montreat Presbyterian church into two congregations, namely:
- 1. The continuing Montreat Presbyterian Church (which continues the name: “Montreat Presbyterian Church”) which is herewith designated as “the true church within the PCUSA” (pursuant to BO: G-8.0601); and
- 2. Those members of the current Montreat Presbyterian Church who are desirous of being dismissed as a congregation to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, which new congregation shall be referred to as the EPC Congregation.
D. (For the continuing Montreat Presbyterian Church):
Authorize the chair of the Committee on Ministry, the chair of the Coordinating Council and the General Presbyter together to appoint (pursuant to BO: G-9.0500) an administrative commission with all the powers and responsibilities of a session (BO: G-10.0102) for the benefit and ministry of the continuing Montreat Presbyterian Church.
E. (For the continuing Montreat Presbyterian Church):
Request the Mountain Retreat Association (which controls the Montreat Conference Center) to provide, free of charge, suitable space for worship and other church activities for the continuing Montreat Presbyterian Church, when it so requests.
F. (For the EPC Congregation):
Dismiss (pursuant to BO: 11.0103.i) the EPC Congregation to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, upon a request from the EPC Presbytery Stated Clerk, with the blessings and prayers of this presbytery for its faithful and fruitful service to the Lord.
G. Agree that, if the EPC Congregation, or any of its members, brings a civil lawsuit against this presbytery, then the above dismissal is null and void, and the Special Task Force for Montreat (or seven of its members) will immediately become an administrative commission to exercise original jurisdiction over that congregation (BO: G-11.0103.s) with all the powers and responsibilities of a session (BO: G-10.0102), making regular reports to this presbytery.
II. The Presbytery of Western North Carolina further agrees to:
H. Take possession of all the real property now “held in trust … for the use and benefit of the PCUSA” (BO: G-8.0201) by the formerly undivided Montreat Presbyterian Church, to hold and manage such property in trust for the mission of Christ’s Church in this presbytery and the PCUSA, until this process described in item II.I. below is completed.
I. Remembering the instruction of the Prophet Isaiah, “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord,” authorize the Special Task Force for Montreat to invite and convene meetings of these concerned parties (two representatives from each):
- Task Force.
- Mountain Retreat Association (Montreat Conference Center).
- The continuing Montreat Presbyterian Church, including any who may wish to join it.
- The EPC Congregation, including any who may wish to join it.
- Montreat College.
for up to six months to work out a mutually acceptable settlement concerning the property, which the task force can recommend to the presbytery at its October 2007 meeting.
J. Provide, during the interim, that the use of the land and building in Montreat known as the Henry Building shall be shared by the two congregations (the continuing Montreat Presbyterian Church and the EPC Congregation), initially approximately 10 percent of the space for the continuing Montreat Presbyterian Church and 90 percent for the EPC Congregation, authorizing the chair of the Coordinating Council, the chair of the Committee on Ministry and the General Presbyter together to decide on the actual allocation of such space in the Henry Building and, as seems justifiable to them, to adjust the actual percentages of space shared.
K. Pray for the divine blessing of grace and peace on this settlement, to the lasting glory of the One God: Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.